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How Do Teacher Mentors Perceive their Role, Does It Matter?

This study addresses research questions regarding how mentors perceive their role, what preparation they receive to serve as effective mentors, and what are their professional needs. The participants included two groups of mentors: one group who received professional training and one group who received no professional training.

The study illuminates essential aspects of the mentors’ role perception and the impact of mentoring education on the professional identity of mentors. The implications are that low involvement in PD workshops could be linked to the uncertainty in mentors’ own self-perception as mentors. How mentors perceive their roles does matter if they wish to gain recognition by significant others within their institutions. Likewise, schools need to provide a supportive culture which is fundamental to identity construction.